Senate Bylaws

ADOPTED 3/31/98

ARTICLE I -- ORGANIZATION OF THE FACULTY SENATE

Section I -- Membership

A. Membership shall be determined according to the Faculty Senate Constitution.
B. A Senate member who cannot attend a particular meeting may designate a substitute from his or her constituency.
C. Good-Standing: Any member of the Senate will lose membership upon three absences without a designated substitute or five absences with a designated substitute from regular Senate meetings in any academic year, and shall be ineligible for re-election for the unexpired term.
D. Elections:
1. Voting: Only constituents who are full time employees of the university are eligible to vote in Senate elections.
2. Absentee Voting: In the event that a constituent is away from campus on sabbatical, medical leave or on official University business during all hours of voting, the constituent may make a written request to the Chairperson of the Elections Council for the privilege of voting by absentee ballot. Requests for absentee ballots must indicate the reason why the constituent cannot vote in-person and must be received by the Chairperson of the Elections Council 10 days prior to the first day of voting. Within two days of receipt of such a request, and upon certification that the request falls within the guidelines stated above, the Chairperson of the Elections Council will post an absentee ballot to the requesting constituent. The requesting constituent may obtain a final slate of nominees by calling the Senate office. In order to be counted, all absentee ballots must be accompanied by a telephone call to the Elections Council Chairperson, be placed in a sealed envelope which is in turn placed in a signed and sealed outer envelope, and be received in the Senate office before the end of the in-person voting hours.

3. Poll Watching:

a. Time: Each election will be held over a two day period, usually Wednesday and Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. These hours will be divided into time blocks with 2 people sitting during each time block and 3 during the last time block to help count the ballots. As an example:

- 9:00 a.m 10:45 a.m.

- 10:45 a.m. 12:15 p.m.

- 12:15 a.m. 1:45 p.m.

- 1:45 p.m. 3:00 p.m.

b. Rotation: The time periods will be assigned on a rotating basis so that departments, librarians and professional staff are not always responsible for the same time slot. It is recognized that all time slots are not even, however, over a period of years responsibility should be distributed fairly.

c. Choosing Poll Watchers: Departments, librarians and professional staff senators will be responsible for getting constituents to cover the assigned time blocks. Senators from departments, the library and the professional staff will then give the names of the poll watchers to the Elections Council member who coordinates poll watching.

d. Responsibility: The responsibility for sitting at the polls will be assumed by the department, librarian and/or professional staff constituents who agreed to cover the specified time slot.

e. Communications: The Senate Elections Council will remain responsible for all election related correspondence, balloting procedures, opening and closing of the polls, counting the votes, and reporting the results to the Senate Chairperson.

4. NOMINATION PROCEDURE: The nominating procedure will start approximately 4 weeks before the election.

a. There will be a period of 5 working days for nominations. A

nominee may nominate himself or herself. Each nomination must be in writing and accompanied by a phone call to the chairperson of the Elections Council. The Elections Council will confirm receipt of the nomination.

b. An initial list of nominees will be made public.

c. Withdrawals/Additional Nominations:

(1) There will be a period of 5 working days for withdrawals in writing and accompanied by a phone call to the chairperson of the Elections Council. The Elections Council will confirm receipt of the withdrawal.

(2) During the same period, additional nominations will be accepted in writing and accompanied by a phone call to the chairperson of the Elections Council. The Elections Council will confirm receipt of the nomination.

d. A final list of candidates will be circulated no later than 5 working days before the election.

e. There will be no write-in votes permitted at the polls.

f. If there is only one nominee for a position, that nominee will be declared elected by acclamation with no need for voting.

g. If there is no nominee for a position, there will be no representative until the next general election.

5. TIE VOTE: In the case of a tie, there will be a run-off election conducted by the Elections Council.

6. CALENDAR OF ELECTIONS:

a. Promotion Committee and Sabbatical Leave Committee - Late Fall

b. Senate and Senate Committees -- Late Spring Term

c. Merit Award Committee and other Senate Elections -- As needed.

E. Vacancies:

1. Vacancies may occur due to resignation, a conflict due to classroom assignment, prolonged illness, sabbatical leave, personal leave, or inability to serve. It is the responsibility of the Senator representing a department or the library or professional staff to notify their department members or fellow librarians or professional staff members and the Chairperson of the Faculty Senate of their extended absence. Senators elected at large must notify the Chairperson of the Faculty Senate of their extended absence. Any member of the faculty, librarians or professional staff may notify the Chairperson of the Senate if they believe such a vacancy has occurred.

2. The Chairperson of the Faculty Senate shall notify the Election Council and the constituency that a vacancy has occurred. If the constituent is a department or the library representative, the department or librarians shall elect an interim replacement at a department or library meeting and notify the Senate Chairperson of the results. If the constituent is the professional staff representative, anyone may be nominated from the professional staff, and they shall elect from those nominated an interim replacement with balloting taking place at the Senate Office. If the constituent is an at-large representative, anyone eligible for Senate membership may be nominated by the Faculty Senate and the Faculty Senate shall elect an interim replacement at a Senate meeting. An interim replacement will serve only until the next General Election, or until such time as the regularly elected member resumes the responsibilities of the Senate seat.

3. Recall of Senate Members: Members of a constituency may petition for a Recall Election by obtaining the signatures of the greater of either 25% of the constituency or not less then 2 members of the constituency. The petition shall be submitted to the Chairperson of the Senate. The Elections Council, upon validating signatures, shall hold the Recall Election for the constituency within three weeks during which classes are in session. Upon a majority vote of the constituency in favor of recall, the Elections Council shall declare a vacancy and hold a new election in accordance with established procedures.

4. Recall of At-Large Senate Members: At-Large Senators may be recalled by a petition signed by the number of constituents equal to 1/4 of the number of votes cast for the highest At-Large vote winner in the last Spring Senate election. In order to insure the proper number of signatures for this method of recall it is important for the Elections Council to maintain the vote count for Senators At-Large from the Spring Senate Election of the new Senate for one year. To ascertain the number of signatures needed one should consult with the chairperson of the Elections Council. These signatures must be from Faculty, Librarians and Professional Staff constituents who are eligible to vote in a General Senate Election. The petition shall be submitted to the Chairperson of the Senate. The Elections Council, upon validating signatures, shall hold the Recall Election for the constituency, Faculty, Librarians, and Professional Staff, within three weeks during which classes are in session. Upon a majority vote of the constituency in favor of recall, the Elections Council shall declare a vacancy and hold a new election in accordance with established procedures.

Section 2 -- Officers and Executive Committee

A. Duties of the Chairperson:

1. The Chairperson, with the aid of the Executive Committee shall prepare the agenda for Senate meetings.

2. The Chairperson shall provide available background information for all agenda items at least 7 days before the next regularly scheduled meeting to all Senate members, department chairpersons, deans and officers of the University.

3. The Chairperson will appoint a Parliamentarian who may be from the Faculty, Librarians , or Professional Staff at-large.

4. The Chairperson shall be responsible for notifying members of all regular and special meetings.

5. The Chairperson shall oversee that minutes of Senate meetings are communicated to the University Community within 14 days of the meetings.

B. Nomination and Election of Officers:

1. Candidates for all elected positions shall be nominated from the floor and, after a 15 minute interval for caucusing, be elected by a secret ballot.

2. Nominations and voting for the Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary will be held first.

3. Nominations and voting for the 3 at-large representatives to the Executive Committee will then be held.

4. The election shall be conducted by representatives of the Elections Council who will prepare the ballots.

C. Recall of officers and Executive Committee Members:

1. Recall Petition: Senate voting members may petition the recall of officers and members of the Executive Committee by:

a. Submitting a petition for recall containing written reasons and the signatures of at least 1/4 of the voting Senate members. The petition must be submitted to the Executive Committee for mandatory inclusion as the first substantive item on the agenda of the next regularly scheduled meeting.

b. An Officer or Executive Committee member is recalled by two-thirds affirmative vote of all Senate voting members.

D. Vacancies in Office or the Executive Committee Seats: Upon the recall, resignation, or illness of an officer or a member of the Executive Committee, a vacancy shall be declared and announced at the next regularly scheduled Senate meeting. That vacancy shall be filled by election at the following regularly scheduled Senate meeting following procedures outlined in Article 1, Section 2 - B, Nomination and Election of Officers.

Section 3 -- Meetings and Procedures

A. A quorum of the Faculty Senate necessary to conduct business will be defined as an ABSOLUTE majority (more than half) of the eligible voting members. Ex-Officio members without vote will not count toward a quorum count. If the Senate loses a quorum of voting members, it automatically goes into adjournment. It will be the responsibility of the Chair, assisted by the Executive Committee, to monitor the status of the quorum, as appropriate, and any member can demand a quorum count.

A prevailing voting plurality will be defined as the most "ayes", "nays", or "abstentions" present. If abstentions prevail, the motion would then be considered as neither passed nor defeated and the Executive Committee may then decide what future action to propose to the Senate.

B. Secret Ballot: The use of a secret ballot shall be mandatory in the following cases:

1. When requested by a voting member present,

2. During a recall vote,

3. For election of officers and Executive Committee members.

C. A vote by roll call shall be mandatory when requested by 1/3 of the Senators present except if a secret ballot has been mandated.

D. Items may not be added to the regular agenda after the background material is forwarded by the Executive Committee to the Senators unless 2/3 of the Senators present at the meeting vote to make the change in the agenda.

E. If an emergency meeting is deemed necessary by the Executive Committee, Chairperson of the Senate, President of the University or ½ of the Senate voting members, background material for the special meeting should be delivered, if possible, to the Senators 2 days prior to the meeting.

ARTICLE II --COUNCILS AND COMMITTEES

Section 1 -- General Responsibilities: The following points should be adhered to by all Councils and Committees of the Faculty Senate:

A. All Senate Councils and Committees will work with their Senate approved charges to review and develop policy and send it to the Senate. Councils and Committees will indicate the relevance of recommendations to existing college policy in their resolution to the Senate.

B. The writing and presentation of university policies by a Senate Council or Committee is defined as a total process that involves research and appropriate notation of existing policy affected by the new policy, and the relevant input of affected constituents at Council and Committee meetings or other means deemed appropriate.

C. Councils and Committees of the Senate shall provide to the Senate office minutes of each meeting held for inclusion in the Senate files.

D. Each Council and Committee shall submit a Year End Report to the Senate. The Council or Committee may, at this time, suggest to the Senate new permanent charges that the Council or Committee feels it should review on an on going basis.

E. The previous year's Councils and Standing Committees will remain in office until the new Councils and Standing Committees are elected.

ARTICLE II - Section 2 -- Councils

A. Membership and Meetings

1. All Councils shall have seven voting members who must be full-time employees consisting of:

a. Faculty: Faculty members, one from each college.

b. Librarian: Each council shall have one representative from the library staff.

c. Professional Staff: Each council shall have one representative from the Professional Staff.

d. An individual may be a member of only one Senate Council but may serve on other Senate Committees.

2. The Senate Vice Chairperson should circulate to all Faculty, Librarians and Professional Staff a brief description of all Senate Councils during the Spring Semester. Those interested in serving should indicate this to the Senate Vice Chairperson.

3. The Senate Executive Committee shall consult the list of those offering to serve (but they are not limited by it) and shall nominate members for each Council. The Vice Chairperson of the Senate shall also accept nominations from the floor. Senators at a Senate meeting shall then elect members for each Council from those nominated, and the Senate Vice Chairperson shall notify Council Members of their election. The Senate Vice Chairperson shall appoint a Convener for each Council.

4. The Chair of each Council shall be elected at its first meeting. Notification of the results of this election shall be forwarded to the Senate Chairperson who will notify the Senate and Faculty at-large.

5. All Councils, except for the Elections Council, must meet at least monthly and report to the Senate Chairperson and Vice Chairperson each month. Minutes of Council Meetings will be forwarded to the Senate Office within 2 weeks of each meeting.

6. Any Council Chairperson, with the exception of the Election Council's Chairperson, who does not conduct monthly meetings may be replaced by the Chairperson of the Faculty Senate. However, the individual may remain as a member of the Council.

7. Council members who have 3 absences shall be removed from the Council and reinstated only by vote of the Senate. Notice of this removal shall be made in writing to the Senate Executive Committee and the Senate Chairperson. If necessary the Vice Chairperson will follow procedures of Article II, Section 2-A-3 for finding a replacement council member.

8. When teaching schedules for Council members are in conflict, meetings should be held on rotating days. It is hoped that faculty with little or few available hours at appropriate meeting times will carefully consider their availability/schedule before seeking Council membership.

B. Function: Councils shall be appointed to carry out specific charges from the Senate, and to develop additional charges, as deemed necessary by the Councils, and approved by the Senate, to achieve goals which shall fall into the following general categories:

1. Admissions and Academic Standards Council

a. Recommend policy for the evaluation of all members of the undergraduate University community regarding admissions, probation, dismissal, and graduation.

b. Recommend policy for the adoption, implementation and enforcement of educational and academic standards.

c. Recommend policy for academic standards for participation in extra curricular activities.

d. Work with administrators involved in areas of Admissions, and extra curricular activities to recommend ways to facilitate policy implementation.

2. Advisement and Registration Council

a. Review advisement and registration policies and procedures, and recommend revisions and/or new policies, as needed.

b. Identify problems and recommend means for improvement in advisement and registration policies.

c. Work with administrators involved in areas of Advisement and Registration to recommend ways to facilitate policy implementation.

3. Athletic Activities Policy Council

a. Continually review academic policies of varsity athletic, and club sport programs.

b. Recommend recruiting policies for men's and women's varsity athletics.

c. Recommend policies for post season varsity athletic competitions.

d. Work with administrators, coaches and others involved in areas of varsity athletics, and club sport programs to recommend ways to facilitate policy implementation.

4. Elections Council

a. Develop standardized procedures for all campus-wide elections.

b. Conduct Faculty Senate elections prior to April 30.

c. Conduct campus-wide elections according to the election policy for:

(1) Promotion Committee, Sabbatical Leave Committee, Merit Award Committee.

(2) University wide ad-hoc committees and major Search

Committees where broad elected representation is needed. These elections can be called upon request from the Senate directly or by the Senate at the request of University Administrative officials for members from Faculty, Librarians, Professional Staff .

5. Governance Council

a. Delineate the role of the Faculty Senate in University governance.

b. Review of the Governance Statement.

c. Recommend patterns of and responsibilities for self-governance by colleges, schools, institutes, divisions, and faculties.

d. Review the Policy Manual periodically and suggest policies which need to be reviewed or revised.

e. Review applications for Faculty Emeritus status and make recommendations to the Senate.

6. Graduate Council

a. Recommend policy on course requirements for graduate degrees and the procedures for inaugurating, changing, or terminating graduate courses and programs.

b. Review and recommend new graduate programs, major changes in existing programs, and areas of expansion.

7. Undergraduate Council

a. Recommend policy on undergraduate course requirements for degrees and the procedures for inaugurating, changing, or terminating undergraduate courses and programs.

b. Review and recommend new undergraduate programs, major changes in existing programs, and undergraduate courses.

8. Research Council

a. Promote Faculty, Librarian, & Professional Staff scholarship; identify, on an ongoing basis, current and anticipated faculty, librarian, and professional staff needs with regard to scholarship and research and recommend strategies designed to meet those needs,

b. Support the continued efforts to build academic research networks on and beyond the William Paterson campus,

c. Review, yearly as needed, the policies, procedures, and guidelines for each of the following:

(1) Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects,

(2) Scientific and Academic Fraud and Misconduct,

(3) Assigned Research Time Application and Selection.

ARTICLE II - Section 3 -- Committees

A. Standing Committees

It will be necessary to form standing committees in areas where the Faculty has first and major responsibility when:

I. Voting representation is required from other than Faculty, Librarians, and Professional Staff,

II. When committee members are elected in a general Senate election,

III. When the committee has its own budget.

Any combination of these special requirements must be met for a standing committee to be established instead of creating a new Senate Council or referring work to an existing Council. The Senate should in all instances, where possible, assign tasks to Senate Councils, except in rare and extenuating circumstances.

1. General Education Committee:

a. The General Education Committee shall carry out its charges within the context of the General Education Policy.

b. The General Education Committee shall abide by the procedures outlined in

Article II - Section 1, General Responsibilities for Council and Committees.

c. Members of the General Education Committee shall consist of the following:

(1) One Faculty Member from each College,

(2) One Librarian,

(3) One Professional Staff Member,

(4) Two At-Large Members from the Faculty who are from different departments than the College representative.

d. Nominations and election to this committee for Faculty, Librarians and Professional Staff will follow the existing procedures for membership for Senate Councils.

e. Members of the committee shall elect a faculty, librarian, or professional

staff committee person as chairperson.

f. The Director of General Education, appointed by the Provost, shall be an Ex-Officio member, without vote, of this committee.

g. Members of the General Education Committee shall serve two year terms and these terms shall be staggered so that no more then 5 members or less then four (4) members shall be elected to a new full term each year.

h. The General Education Committee working with the Undergraduate Council shall monitor the General Education program and review and recommend to the Senate all proposed course and curriculum changes for General Education credit.

I. The General Education Committee will review and make recommendations regarding all changes in the General Education Policy to the Senate.

j. Minutes of the Committee's meetings shall be provided to the Senate Executive Committee, Provost, and the President.

k. The General Education Committee shall submit a year end report to the Senate and the Provost.

l. The General Education Committee should work closely with all constituencies to attain the goals and objectives as stated in the current General Education Policy adopted by the Faculty Senate, endorsed by the President, and approved by the Board of Trustees, 3/11/81.

2. Assessment Committee

a. The Assessment Committee shall carry out its charges within the context of the current Assessment Policy and the "Principles of Assessment" , adhered to by this institution which are:

1. For the purposes of assessment , assessment shall be defined: Evaluation is the judging of individual or group performance for the sake of distinguishing this performance from that of others and acknowledging the individual or group as responsible for this difference. Assessment is the judging of individual or group performance for the sake of determining achievement in relation to predetermined objectives, preferably agreed to by the individual or group, and correcting the system in order to improve this achievement.

Evaluation is the end point in a process or stage of a process. Assessment provides information for beginning a new process or for re-orienting a continuing process.

When one evaluates, the system or context within which these performances occur is considered as a constant among the performance and thus cannot be judged as a system. When one assesses, the participants are considered to be constant in the process and thus can not be judged on their performance.

2. The focus of assessment is to improve student learning and development which must be viewed in a broad context including at least the following four areas: General Education, Faculty and Staff Development, Majors, and Student Services. In order to enhance our educational environment, methods will be designed that:

a. better articulate the educational goals,

b. provide means for collecting information on the progress towards the goals,

c. disseminate results to faculty and staff involved, who will consider possible modifications in their programs.

3. Their are many valid approaches to assessment. Assessment may be quantitative or qualitative. The faculty or staff in each program will identify or create its own assessment instruments.

4. Assessment will not be used as "gates" to control entrance to or exit from programs.

5. Assessment results are solely for William Paterson University use; only data which are currently required and presently reported (e.g. affirmative action data, Basic Skills results, graduate survey information. etc.) will be made available to external agencies. The educational soundness of the program requires confidentiality of the data be maintained.

6. Data from assessment shall be collected on an anonymous basis and shall not be used to make comparisons among faculty, staff, programs, departments, schools or colleges here or at other institutions.

7. Assessment data shall not be used for personnel evaluation and in particular, shall not be employed in the retention, tenure, promotion, or merit award processes.

8. Assessment is a mutual responsibility shared among faculty, staff, student and administrators. Basic to the fulfilling of that responsibility is financial support, assistance, guidance, and leadership.

9. Assessment is a dynamic, long range process. The initial period of any assessment program will be used to identify approaches to study and refine them, and to develop systems for implementing ongoing program assessment.

10. Assessment must involve consideration of the context in which learning takes place.

b. The Assessment Committee shall abide by the procedures outlined in

Article II - Section 1, General Responsibilities for Council and Committees.

c. Composition of the Assessment Committee shall consist of the following

:

(1) One Faculty Member from each College,

(2) One Librarian,

(3) One Professional Staff Member,

(4) Two At-Large Members, not from the same department, and from different departments then the College representative. Thus allowing representation from seven different departments

(5) Four Administrators with representation from:

(a) The Provost Office

(b) The Academic Deans

(c) Student Services

(d) The Planning Council

d. Nominations and election to this committee for Faculty, Librarians and Professional Staff will follow the existing procedures for membership for Senate Councils. The Senate Executive Council shall make every effort to ensure that it nominates individuals who are currently working in their chosen area of assessment. The four administrative areas to be represented: Provost, Academic Deans, Student Services, and the Planning Council will be appointed to serve by the Provost/Executive Vice President.

e. Members of the Assessment Committee shall serve two year terms and these terms shall be staggered so that no more then 5 members or less then 4 members shall be elected to a new full term each year.

f. Members of the committee shall elect a faculty, librarian, or professional

staff committee person as chairperson.

g. All members of the Committee shall have voting rights.

h. The Committee's function will be to:

1. Coordinate assessment activities adopted by the Senate.

2. Inform and educate the entire college community regarding issues and trends in relation to assessment.

3. Review and recommend priorities and policies regarding assessment to the Senate.

4. Prepare and allocate resources with Senate approval for assessment.

5. Act as consultants for assessment projects.

6. Recommend to the Senate the direction and focus for assessment at William Paterson.

I. The Committee shall present its yearly budget to the Senate Executive Committee for approval prior to sending it to the Administration.

j. Minutes of the Committee's meetings shall be provided to the Senate Executive Committee, Provost, and the President.

k. The Committee shall submit a year end report to the Senate ending its term at its last meeting of the Academic year. A copy of this report shall be made available to the President of the College and the President of the Union.

l. The Committee shall also provide a budget report each semester as well as any reports or information requested by the Senate Executive Committee and/or Senate.

m. The Committee shall report to the Senate Executive Committee its participation in State or other mandated assessment activities before engaging in these activities.

n. The Assessment Committee should work closely with all constituencies to attain the goals and objectives as stated in the current Assessment Policy adopted by the Faculty Senate, endorsed by the President, and approved by the Board of Trustees, 00/00/00.

B. AD HOC COMMITTEES

a. Ad Hoc Committees will be established by the Senate from time to time for special purposes.

b. Ad Hoc Committees shall abide by the procedures outlined in

Article II - Section 1, General Responsibilities for Council and Committees.

c. Ad Hoc committees may be formed when representation is required from other than Faculty, Librarians, and Professional Staff for a special task, and for a limited time not to exceed one academic year.

d. An Ad Hoc Committee will cease to exist with the end of the term of the Senate that established it, but it may be reestablished by the incoming Senate.

e. Nominations and election to this committee for Faculty, Librarians and Professional Staff will follow the existing procedures for membership for Senate Councils. Administrative areas to be represented on Ad Hoc Committees will be appointed to serve by the Provost/Executive Vice President.

f. Members of the committee shall elect a faculty, librarian, or professional

staff committee person as chairperson.

g. All members of the Committee shall have voting rights.

h. Minutes of the Committee's meetings shall be provided to the Senate Executive Committee, and the Provost.

I. The Committee shall submit a year end report to the Senate ending its term at its last meeting of the Academic year. A copy of this report shall be made available to the Provost.

j. Ad Hoc committees should work closely with all constituencies to attain the goals and objectives as stated in their Charges from the Senate.

bylaws12-17-97 RGM